Fight Night
by substitutingrealitywithmyown
Summary: Hey all, this isn't really a story, its a collection of one-shot fights that might make an appearance in future stories. I want to improve in writing battle/fight scenes, so I thought posting them for your reviews is the perfect chance to do so. Enjoy, rated M for safety
1. Team Hurricane fight

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Naruto_, I'm just having some fun.**

"You want us to do WHAT!" Naruto cried, startling several flocks of sea gulls that were looking around for scarps of food.

"You, Sakura-chan and Lee-kun will face Kakashi tomorrow morning at 9am, at Training Ground 4," Minato said. "Do not hold back, any of you, we will know if you do. This mission will exceedingly dangerous and you will most likely face very strong opponents, and you will not have the chance to back out of the fight. Kakashi has been instructed to not hold back either, so you will get the full feel."

"But dad, you know how strong we are," Naruto exclaimed. "We…"

"That's enough Naruto," Minato's stern voice brokered no argument. "You might think that you and your team are strong, and for your age and rank, yes you three are strong. But that's the point, you three will be the only team we are sending to Konoha for the Exams and you have to be ready for anything. You will most likely face extremely strong opponents in these exams and you have to be ready. Naruto, you and your teammates will be at that training ground on time and ready to face Kakashi Hatake, or I will send you back to the Academy, am I understood?"

"Yes sir," Naruto snapped. He turned at the feel of a hand being placed on his shoulder.

"Come on Naruto-kun," Naruto's teammate, Rock Lee, said. "You heard the Arashikage, let us go. We will need all the time given to prepare for Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto turned to his other teammate, Sakura Haruno. "Lee's right Naruto," Sakura said. "Your father is right as well, and you know it. We might think we're strong but that doesn't mean we can get complacent. Remember, there is always someone out there stronger than you." Naruto sighed at the wise words of his teammates and then turned back to his father, and nodded.

"We'll be there sir," Naruto said. "And Kakashi, you better be ready." The five adults in the office watched as the three genin leave the office.

"You know that they aren't going to make it easy for you Kakashi," Minato said. "Those three are very strong for their ages, and together they could handle most B-rank ninja."

"I know sensei," Kakashi said. "But I won't make it easier either."

The next morning found Naruto, Lee and Sakura waiting in the middle of Training Ground 4, waiting for their opponent, Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja, and the only remaining surviving student of Minato Namikaze, and a legend of the ninja world in his own right.

"So how late do you think sensei will be?" Naruto asked.

"Probably not very, he knows how important this is," Sakura said. "And I don't think your dad will let him wallow in his past, I mean it's been twelve years since we were forced to leave Konoha."

"They are here," Lee said. Immediately Naruto and Sakura stopped talking and turned around in time to see the arrival of Kakashi, Kushina, Naruto's little sister Hitomi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, Gai and Minato.

"Told you," giggled Sakura. Naruto pouted but kept quiet.

"Good you are all here, that means we can get started," Minato said. "Now this is a no-holds barred fight, anything goes, however do try and not kill each other. Tsunade-sama and Shizune-chan are here as emergency medics but I'd rather us not need them. Jiraiya-sensei, Gai-san and myself will be refereeing the fight. So then are you all ready?"

"Hai Arashikage-sama," the trio of genin barked, while Kakashi just nodded.

"Then…begin!" Minato cried.

Naruto instantly threw several shuriken at Kakashi and called out, "_**Kage Shuriken Bunshin no Jutsu!**_" The three shuriken multiplied into 15, Kakashi however easily dodged or blocked the projectiles with his own kunai.

"You'll have to do better than that little brother," Kakashi chided.

"Are you forgetting us sensei?" Sakura's voice sent shivers down Kakashi's spine, that no one could see of course. '_How can see already sound exactly like Tsunade-sama, Kushina-nee or Shizune-chan when they want to castrate a man?_' Kakashi thought as he quickly replaced himself with a log that exploded into splinters from a viscous spinning kick from Lee.

"You still haven't uncovered your _**Sharingan**_ yet sensei, so obviously you aren't taking this seriously," Sakura's voice echoed all around the clearing. Kakashi smirked at the common scare tactic that would work on most fresh genin and even some chunin depending on the situation. Looking back to the middle of the clearing, Kakashi noticed that his students were nowhere in sight.

"You three haven't made me use it yet," Kakashi said. "Perhaps you three aren't ready for this mission, and are not as strong as you think you are."

"_**Futon: **__**Daitoppa!**_"

"_**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**_"

Two identical voices cried out, the two jutsus quickly combined to create a large conflagration that was heading straight toward Kakashi.

"_**Suiton: Suijinheki!**_" Kakashi barked. A mass of water surged from a nearby river and quickly rose in front of Kakashi. The collaboration jutsu smashed into the _**Suiton**_ jutsu, causing a massive amount of steam to blanket the area. All the spectators could see were indistinct shapes in the mist.

"Clever move by the gaki," Jiraiya said. "Using _**Kage Bunshin**_ to use ninjutsu and collaboration jutsus at that. Using the _**Kage Bunshin**_ eliminates the need to synchronize chakras because the two users are already have the same chakra."

"So are you finally getting serious, eh sensei?" Naruto asked as the mist cleared, reveling Naruto, Lee, Sakura and Kakashi, who had moved his headband up to allow the _**Sharingan**_ to appear.

"That was quite an idea Naruto but its still not enough," Kakashi said.

"You're right, let's go Lee!" Naruto said with a wild grin.

"Yosh!" Lee shouted as the pair of boys surged forward. Kakashi instantly fell back under the onslaught of the two younger ninja. His highly trained reflexes, honed from years of being a shinobi, and the _**Sharingan**_ were the only things keeping Kakashi being in a world of trouble.

"So that's their play," Minato muttered.

"What was that Mina-kun?" Kushina asked, switching Hitomi from her hop to her arms.

"Just watch, we might have underestimated them," Minato answered cryptically.

Kakashi ducked under a whirlwind kick from Lee only to have to us his arms to block a heavy punch from Naruto. Kakashi leapt backward to gain space when he noticed Sakura standing in the same spot as she had been when the fog had lifted.

"Looking for me," Sakura's chillingly sweet voice whispered as a pair of glowing blue hands erupted from the ground beneath Kakashi. The older shinobi leapt clear, though just barely as his third student rose silently from the ground, the blue glow fading from her hands."

"When?" he asked.

"As soon as yours and Naruto's jutsus collided," Sakura said. "Naruto created another _**Kage Bunshin**_ and had it _**Henge**_ into me while I used the _**Doton: Dochū Eigyo no Jutsu**_ to hide. Then Lee and Naruto attacked you, herding you toward me but I wasn't quick enough."

"That plan probably would have worked if it wasn't for the fact that with my _**Sharingan**_, I could tell that it wasn't your chakra, Sakura," Kakashi said. "If you were facing an opponent that didn't have a dojutsu, it would have worked at least more often than not."

"Thank you sensei," the three genin chorused.

"Right then, I think its time that I truly take this seriously," Kakashi said. "_**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**_"

A large fireball raced across the clearing causing the three genin to scatter. Sakura looked up to see Kakashi falling toward her. The pink-haired genin grabbed the hilt of her sword and blocked the kunai slash from Kakashi that would have sliced her clean open. She pushed Kakashi back before slashing quickly at the silver-haired man. Kakashi blocked the strike easily with his kunai.

"So, let's see how far you've come under Kushina-nee's tutelage," Kakashi said. For Sakura the next five minutes were a desperate battle of wills as she sliced, slashed, thrust, parried and riposted away at her sensei. But to the spectators, it was like watching a highly choreographed dance.

"Sakura truly has come a long way in such a short amount of time," Tsunade commented. "I can't believe that you agree to teach her the Uzumaki sword style Kushina."

"What can I say?" Kushina answered. "I'm a sucker for a girl who wants to prove herself. And don't you think that teaching her the _**Chakura no Mesu**_ was a bit much?"

"Well, I never expected her to master them so quickly and to have the ability to wield them in battle is incredible for someone so young," Tsunade said.

"Why haven't Lee-kun or Naruto-kun rejoined the fight?" Shizune asked.

"They're holding back because they know that Sakura is strong and they believe in her but there will be sometimes that you must face a superior opponent alone," Minato explained. "And what will you do then? Run or fight?"

Lee and Naruto were standing off to the side, watching their teammate 'dance' with Kakashi. Both looked calm, though they were ready to jump in at a moment's notice to assist their teammate. And that moment was fast approaching as Lee and Naruto could see that Sakura was beginning to tire.

"I guess it's my turn," lee said. Naruto nodded, his eyes still glued on the fight.

"Go Lee," Naruto said suddenly, and in a cloud of dust Lee had vanished.

"_**Dynamic Entry!**_" Lee cried as he shot toward Kakashi, leg outstretched. The older ninja spun around faster than the genin could follow and grabbed Lee's leg at the ankle and threw the dark haired genin at his pink-haired teammate.

"Don't shout out your attacks Lee," Kakashi chided. "You let your opponents get ready and set up a defense."

"Damnit Lee, how many times have we told you not to do that?" Sakura snapped.

"Sorry Sakura-chan," Lee muttered.

"Well then Lee-kun, shall we get started?" Kakashi asked. "Or is that all you can do?" Lee grinned as he launched himself at Kakashi. The spar quickly dissolved into a flurry of blows as Lee attempted to overwhelm Kakashi but the older ninja was easily able to block, deflect or dodge the strikes. Even though Lee hadn't managed to land a single blow, the dark haired genin was grinning like a madman.

"Go ahead Lee, take them off," Gai called out from the sidelines.

"Are you sure Gai-sensei?" Lee asked.

"Yes, I give you permission."

"Kai." Lee sighed as a blue glow surrounded him. Lee then turned his stony eyes on Kakashi before vanishing from sight. Kakashi raised an arm to block Lee's kick.

"Where's Naruto-kun?" Shizune asked looking away from the furious taijutsu battle.

"Knowing Naruto, he's watching this fight, analyzing Kakashi," Jiraiya said. "Outside of being a shinobi, that kid is a clone of Kushina. But get this brat serious and he is a mix of Kushina and Minato, he has Minato's cool, calculating analysis and Kushina's willingness to take risks and no-fear attitude."

"Argh!" Lee cried out as Kakashi managed to get inside Lee's guard and landed several heavy blows to Lee's chest sending the genin flying backward.

"All right Naruto, I think you've been sitting on the sidelines for too long," Kakashi said. "Are you going to just sit back and let your teammates fight your battles for you?" Kakashi quirked an eyebrow as he felt a spike of chakra coming from behind him. In a whirl of leaves, a short blonde figure appeared. "So you decided to join the party then?"

Naruto didn't answer as his blue eyes steeled over and he drew two dark blue trench knives with knuckle guards. Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he watched his blonde student shimmer out of sight. CLANG! Kakashi raised a kunai in time to block one of Naruto's knives, the older ninja quickly grabbed Naruto's outstretched wrist and wrenched it aside, causing Naruto's hand to open and the knife to slip from his fingers. Kakashi frowned as he felt something off. His suspicion was proved right as Naruto began to glow blue. Kakashi instantly left Naruto go and leapt back, just in time as Naruto exploded into a flurry of kunai and shuriken.

"How do you like my new _**Shrapnel Bunshin**_?" Naruto asked as he appeared in another swirl of leaves.

"Interesting idea," Kakashi commented. "So you combined the _**Great Clone Explosion**_ and what?"

"A bit of space-time _**fuinjutsu**_," Naruto said. "It took a while thought. I figured that since ninja could create clones out of water, earth, ice, lightning, pure chakra and even just making it an illusion why can't we have a clone filled with kunai or shuriken?"

"I see," Kakashi said. "Is that all you've come up with?"

"Not quite," Naruto said. He dashed forward and dove into a baseball slide. Kakashi leapt over the sliding Naruto. "Don't think you're getting away from me that easily sensei?"

Kakashi looked up to see several Naruto clones descending from above him.

"_**Naruto Uzumaki Rendan!**_" Naruto shouted. He shot up from beneath Kakashi and nailed Kakashi with a kick to the chin that sent the older ninja flying into the air toward the other clones. Each of the clones either punched or kicked Kakashi higher into the air. A shadow fell over Kakashi, who looked up to see the heel of Naruto's shinobi sandal speeding down toward his head. Kakashi raised his arms to block but the force was too strong and Kakashi was sent flying back to the ground where he landed with a loud crash. Naruto landed on his feet several feet away from Kakashi. Naruto narrowed his eyes at his down sensei, suddenly he whirled around to see Kakashi standing behind him, the man's hands in his pockets. Naruto turned back to the 'Kakashi' in the small crater when it exploded into smoke to revel a log.

"_**Kage Shuriken Bunshin!**_" Naruto shouted as he flung five shuriken toward Kakashi that multiplied into nearly one hundred.

"_**Doton: Doryuuheki!**_" Kakashi said calmly as he slammed his hands to the ground. A wall of rock shot up from the ground and blocked the shuriken. Suddenly the wall of rock shattered into shards of rock as Naruto came barreling through it, his right hand outstretched with a swirling ball of chakra in it. Kakashi leapt backward to avoid Naruto, who slammed the jutsu into the ground causing a large amount of dirt to be kick up into the air.

"That's enough!" Minato's voice called out. Naruto got to his feet and turned to face his father and the others. "I think we've seen enough for now. Well done all three of you. You three have proved to all of us that you are more than ready for this mission, but don't get complacent. Missions, now matter how easy they may seem, always have the chance of going bad. Always plan for the worst, hope for the best."

"Yes Arashikage-sama!" Naruto, Lee and Sakura chorused.

"Good, you are dismissed," Minato said. The three genin vanished in puffs of smoke leaving the training ground empty aside from the adults. Minato turned to Kakashi and the other older shinobi.

"They've come a long way," Kakashi said.

"Sure looked like they had you on the ropes several times Kakashi," Jiraiya chuckled.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed feeling. "They are strong that's for sure, I don't think they will have much trouble with their missions Minato-sensei," Kakashi said. "They'll be able to handle anything that the Exams throw at them outside of something really going wrong."

"Like if their cover gets blown," Minato said sternly.

"That might do it," Kakashi said.

"Don't worry Mina-kun," Kushina said. "They know their limits and I'm sure that Naruto will get them out if it comes to that. He is our son."

"That he is Kushina-chan," Minato said.

**A/N: There you have it, please let me know how I did. I think its pretty good but it is always better to have other pairs of eyes looking it over. If you have any suggestions or gripes, leave them in a review or a PM.**

**Thanks**

**S.R.W.M.O**


	2. Team Hurri Chunin Finals

**Disclaimer: I don't know anything from _Naruto_, I'm just having some fun with the characters.**

"You three got lucky in the Forest," Sasuke sneered. "We went easy on you guys. Now you'll witness the full power of the Uchiha Clan and Konoha."

"We'll see," Naruto said as his eyes steeled over. Lee and Sakura exchanged a look; they knew that Naruto was serious. Normally the blonde was exuberant when fighting, much like his mother but when the time came for Naruto to get serious, Naruto would take on the countenance of his father. They knew that Naruto felt that Sasuke was the strongest fighter opposing them.

"Hitomi, Noboru, make sure no one interrupts us," Naruto ordered.

"Fine Kenshin but if you don't beat this braggart, I'm telling your mother, Aunt Nade and Une-neechan," Sakura said.

"I understand," Naruto said. "Just be careful."

"Don't worry about us Shin, we'll be fine," Lee said.

"Worry about yourself," Sakura said. "There's something off about this guy. His chakra feels dirty or tainted."

"I see, so you have a sensor on your team," Sasuke said.

"We must inform Lord Danzo and Lord Orochimaru of this," Sai said. "I'm sure that they both would _welcome_ such a valuable addition to Konoha, even if she is an ugly hag."

Both Naruto and Lee paled and slowly edged away from the silent Sakura. When she spoke though, it was cold enough to send a shiver down even the most battle-hardened shinobi's spine.

"Pale face is mine," Sakura snarled as she drew her kodachi. Lee pulled out a pair of nunchaku and brought his hand up in his battle ready stance.

"Begin!" the proctor shouted, dropping his hand.

Sasuke surged forward, his eyes flashing with glee, a kunai appearing in his hand. Naruto blocked the strike with one of his trench knives and the two boys were now locked in a struggle. With a resounding clang, the two boys leapt apart, their weapons still gripped tightly in hand.

"Impressive, not many people can stand up to my strength," Sasuke said. "But let's see how you fair against this." Naruto felt Sasuke's chakra surge and with a snap and crackle, Sasuke's kunai were covered in lightning. "Try this on for size," Sasuke shouted as he charged forward again.

Naruto quickly coated his two knives in Wind-chakra and blocked Sasuke's kunai.

"What!" Sasuke cried. "You have Wind chakra!"

"Correct," Naruto said. "So your little light show is meaningless."

"Lightning might be weak against wind but let's see how it stacks up to Fire! _**Katon: **__**Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**_"

A large fireball spewed from Sasuke's mouth. Naruto's eyes widened as he instantly leapt backward. The fireball raced across the ground toward him. It collided with the blonde boy, much to the wild cheers of the crowd.

"Not bad," a voice called out. "I certainly didn't expect you to be able to perform that jutsu without using hand signs."

Sasuke whirled around to see Naruto standing roughly twenty feet away. Turning back to where he thought Naruto had been, he was angry to see that the Naruto that he thought had burnt to crisp was only a badly burnt log.

"You're not the only one who can use jutsu without using hand signs," Naruto said. "I think I should get started. _**Futon: Kage Shuriken Bunshin no Jutsu!**_" The three shuriken that Naruto threw divided into nearly twenty, and all of them were coated in Wind chakra. Sasuke was able to leap clear of most of the kunai but three of the projectiles managed to graze the Uchiha boy, leaving nothing more than large paper cuts on his right arm and left leg.

"Not bad, you actually managed to wound me," Sasuke said as the cuts shed small tears of blood. "Looks like I'll have to get serious." Naruto watched with a small frown as Sasuke activated his _**Sharingan**_. "Now you will feel the full power of the Uchiha clan."

"_**Katon: Ryuujingekido!**_" Sasuke shouted. A wicked looking yellow flame spat from Sasuke's mouth. It rose high above the Uchiha and took on the shape of a dragon's head. With a mighty roar, the flame dragon soared toward Naruto, who quickly pulled out a scroll and unfurled it. A large amount of water gushed out of the scroll, forming a large pool of water before Naruto.

"_**Suiton: **__**Suijinheki!**_"

A large wall of water rose in front of Naruto just in time as the _**Katon**_ jutsu struck. A massive hissing sound filled the stadium as the two jutsus battled before cancelling each other out.

"So you do have some other tricks other than replacing yourself and that kunai trick of yours," Sasuke laughed. "But that won't be enough to beat me."

"Those who forsake the basics are doomed to failure," Naruto said, not taking his eyes off Sasuke's chest. Through their gathered intelligence had said that Sasuke didn't use genjutsu while fighting, Naruto didn't want to try and get caught by the boy's _**Sharingan**_ nonetheless. "And besides, the basics were enough to beat you in the Forest, what makes you think this time will be any different."

"You think you have a chance against me," Sasuke jeered. "You must be dumber than I thought if you think you could possibly beat me, Sasuke Uchiha, son of Fugaku Uchiha, the Rokudaime Hokage-elect."

"Enough talking, let's get this over with," Naruto yawned. Inwardly he grinned when he was Sasuke's whole body tremble with rage.

"Don't you dare ignore me!" Sasuke roared. Black marks began to spread across Sasuke's face and down his arm. "With this power nothing will stand in my way!"

"What is that?" Naruto gasped. "What have you done to yourself?"

"Orochimaru-sensei has given me this gift and unlimited power, power I will use to crush you and your pathetic team," Sasuke laughed, sending chills down Naruto's spine. It was the laugh of someone who had truly lost his mind.

"You will try," Naruto growled.

In a flash, the two young men were in the middle of the arena, straining against one another. Naruto grit his teeth as he was beginning to be forced back by Sasuke. A maniacal smile twisted Sasuke's face as he loomed over Naruto.

"You are done for Kenshin, with this power and the _**Sharingan**_, I am unbeatable," Sasuke crowed.

"You haven't beaten me yet," Naruto snarled. "_**Futon: **__**Daitoppa!**_" A ball of compressed air spat from Naruto's mouth and shot toward Sasuke. The Uchiha boy sneered and used a _**Shunshin**_ to avoid the attack. "Try this on for size!" Naruto cried as he copied Sasuke, and coated two kunai in Lightning chakra.

"What!" Sasuke cried. "How can you use three elemental affinities?"

"Ha, I can use all five," Naruto boasted. "Though I can only do the basics for each, aside from wind. Face it Sasuke, there's no way you can beat me."

"Die Kenshin!" Sasuke roared as his Curse Seal surged with chakra and went to its second stage. Two large webbed hands that looked like wings sprouted from Sasuke's shoulders, as his skin grew gray and his hair extended down to his waist. Sasuke leapt off the ground, using his wings to propel himself even faster toward Naruto. Naruto leapt over the charging Sasuke and spun in midair.

"_**Kage Bunshin!**_" Naruto shouted. A single clone appeared next to Naruto.

"_**Futon: Susanoo boufuu!**_"

"_**Katon: Goukakyuu!**_"

"_**Katon and Fire Release: Doki Susanoo!**_"

A massive flaming tornado raged across the arena toward Sasuke to the shock and awe of the crowd, and the fear of Sasuke.

"Argh!" Sasuke screamed as Naruto's combination jutsu surrounded and engulfed the Uchiha boy. The crowed fell silent as they lost sight of Sasuke in the flames. After a moment, the firestorm died down to revel a crouching Sasuke. His appearance was now even more demonic as flesh seemed to drip from his wings as the dying flames sputtered around him. Sasuke looked up at Naruto, his eyes flashing in time with the flames.

"You are going to pay for that you bastard," Sasuke snarled. "I never thought that I would have to resort to his jutsu but you have surprised me thus far." Getting to his feet, Sasuke leapt away from the dying flames and made four hand signs. Lightning crackled to life in the palm of Sasuke's hand. "Behold the instrument of your destruction, a jutsu created by one of Konoha's greatest ninja as well as one of its most despicable traitors. Behold the _**Chidori!**_"

Naruto froze at the sight of his sensei's prized technique. He had seen exactly what that jutsu could do in the hands of a master. While Sasuke was nowhere near Kakashi's level, to see such a jutsu being wielded by an Uchiha sent Naruto's blood skyrocketing past the boiling point.

"You want to see a jutsu Uchiha," Naruto shouted. "I know a jutsu that makes your light show nothing more than a static shock."

"Then show me, show the world your so-called jutsu," Sasuke cackled as he gripped his left wrist with his right hand.

"Kenshin!" Sakura shouted. "You know you can't use _that_ jutsu! You know what sensei and your father told us!"

Naruto grit his teeth. "I know what sensei and my dad said Hitomi, but I can't let him get away with using _that_ jutsu!"

"Oh what's this," Sasuke sneered. "Are you going to listen to that pathetic excuse for a ninja? Show me what you've got Kenshin, or are you scared?"

"Sak…Hitomi is not pathetic, she's the strongest person I know," Naruto shouted. "And she doesn't rely on some mad scientist's lab experiments for power. You are the one who is pathetic, this isn't even your own power, and you had to borrow another's power just to seem strong."

"I am the strongest shinobi of my age," Sasuke roared. "And I will kill you!" Sasuke leapt forward, the _**Chidori**_ blazing and sparking furiously, leaving a trail of light in his wake.

"_**Futon: Endaisuko-ro!**_" Naruto cried as a mini-tornado of wind appeared in his hands. "Try this on for size!"

The two jutsu slammed into one another with a deafening crash that shook the entire stadium. The dust cloud began to clear, and the spectators leaned forward in their seats. What they saw sent cheer raining down from the rafters; they saw Sasuke with his left arm extended and sticking straight through Naruto's chest.

"No!" Sakura cried as Sasuke wrenched his arm free. A bloodthirsty grin twisted Sasuke's face.

"I told you Kenshin, I was going to kill you," Sasuke laughed.

"Not today," a clear voice rang out. Sasuke suddenly froze as he felt the cold sting of kunai steel against his throat and at the base of his spine. "I can either kill you right here and now by slitting your throat or I could slice right through your spine and end your shinobi career, sure you'll be alive but for a guy like you, it would be a fate worse than death. So then Sasuke, you have three options: death, forfeit or the end of your shinobi career here and now. So what's it going to be?"

"None of the above!" Sasuke shouted as one of his wings shot back to slap Naruto aside. "Argh!" the Uchiha screamed as Naruto used the kunai at his spine to slash through much of the tendons holding the wing up. The fleshy protrusion fell limply to Sasuke's side.

"You'll never learn Uchiha," Naruto scolded. "You will never be able to beat me because you lack on thing."

"And what's that?" Sasuke gasped as he kept his injured side away from Naruto.

"The will to never give up," Naruto whispered as he appeared behind the Konoha ninja in a burst of speed. A quick slash from Naruto's kunai severed Sasuke's Achilles tendons, causing the Uchiha to scream and fall to his knees.

"Winner: Kenshin Arashi!" the proctor announced though Naruto could hear the disgust rippling through his voice.

**A/N: Well how was that. Please let me know, I think it was ok but it is always better to have more pairs of eyes look over it to ensure it is up to the quality that I want for my readers. If you have suggestions on how to make it better, either review or shoot me a PM.**

**Thanks,**

**S.R.W.M.O**


	3. Shippuden Orochimaru fight

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Naruto_, I'm just having some fun with the characters.**

"So it seems our guest has been followed, eh Kabuto-kun?" Orochimaru asked as he turned to face Team Kakashi.

"Yes Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto replied. "What should we do Lord Orochimaru?"

"Well, this is a perfect opportunity for me to _convince_ Sasuke-kun to join me," Orochimaru said with a sickeningly wide grin.

Sasuke shivered behind Naruto.

"You're not getting your hands on Sasuke," Naruto growled. "We are here for the rat on your right, hand him over and we all walk away." Sakura and Sasuke looked at Naruto like they had never seen him before; normally Naruto would barge in first. Here he was actively trying not to fight.

Kakashi had a grim smile hidden beneath his facemask. Naruto had grown in many ways, including knowing when to pick your battles. While Kakashi and his team were strong; Kakashi himself was a high-A rank ninja, Sasuke was a high-B rank, Sakura a mid-B rank ninja. Naruto had jumped from being considered the dead last of his graduating class, three years under Jiraiya's tutelage had greatly increased his prowess, Jiraiya had said that Naruto was a borderline A-rank ninja, and when he used the Kyubi's chakra, Naruto's abilities jumped to low-A. But their opponents were Orochimaru and Kabuto; Orochimaru was an S-rank ninja and Kabuto was a mid-A rank himself, and that didn't account for Sai. Their best bet for getting out of this situation alive and unharmed was to barter for Sai. But Kakashi didn't think that Orochimaru would let them leave, without a fight at least, especially with Sasuke there as well.

"Clever Naruto-kun," Orochimaru said. "But you must know that now that you've brought my prey right to me I can't let you leave."

The Konoha team tensed as Orochimaru took a step forward. In an instant, Sasuke had drawn his sword, Sakura and Kakashi each had a kunai in their hands, and Naruto had drawn his trench knives, wind chakra already flowing through them.

"Oh so copying Asuma-kun, aren't we Naruto-kun?" Orochimaru commented. "So there is a new _**Futon**_ user in Konoha. It warms my heart to see that."

"You don't have a heart you bastard," Sasuke snarled, _**Raiton**_ chakra arching up and down his sword.

"Such malice Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru chided. "I can promise you the power you desperately want, the power you deserve, the power to kill your brother."

"Sasuke, he's trying to wind you up," Naruto said shortly as Sasuke's shoulders hitched.

"Oh and I'm sure you know all about hidden power Naruto-kun, what with that furry problem in your stomach," Orochimaru said. "Have you told them yet Naruto-kun, have you told them what you are?"

"I am Naruto Uzumaki, tokubetsu jonin of Konoha and the man who is going to kick your ass," Naruto growled. "Oh and Oro-teme, they know about the furball and guess what they don't care. It was kind of hard to hide it from Sasuke after our fight, and Sakura-chan is the smartest ninja in the Leaf, aside from Shikamaru, no offense."

"None taken," Sakura said.

Orochimaru's eyes hardened. "Very well then," the traitorous Sannin said. He raised his arms and dozens of snakes shot out of the sleeves. "_**Hidden Snake Hands!**_"

"_**Futon: Great Breakthrough!**_"

"_**Katon: Great Fireball!**_"

The wind-enhanced fire technique engulfed the hall, flames racing up the walls and ceiling. The enclosed hall quickly became unbearably hot as the jutsu quickly burned itself out.

"Impressive," Orochimaru's sickeningly sweet voice mused. "To be able to combine your jutsus in such an easy manner shows quite a bit of skill and usually only ninja who have been together for a very long time have ability. And what makes it even more impressive is that you two have not been teammates for very long."

"So that just means we are more awesome than we thought," Naruto commented lightly even though his eyes were cold. "Kakashi, you and Sakura-chan will handle Kabuto and Sai. Sasuke and I will take care of Orochimaru."

"Kukukuku, you two think you can take a Sannin, it seems that Jiraiya passed on his foolishness to you as well Naruto-kun," Orochimaru laughed. "Well then by all means, let me show you the difference between you and a member of the Sannin." Orochimaru surged forward and landed two crushing blows, one to both Sasuke and Naruto's chests, sending the two young men crashing through several walls. "Kabuto-kun, I'll leave you to handle these two."

"Of course Lord Orochimaru, enjoy your hunting," Kabuto said.

Orochimaru smiled widely before racing out of the hole that he had created with Naruto and Sasuke's bodies.

"So dobe, how the hell are we going to beat Orochimaru, he's a freaking Sannin!" Sasuke shouted.

"I know that," Naruto snapped. "But we had to separate him and Kabuto, that was the only way we stood a chance of all getting out of here alive. Even then, it's still a slim chance."

"That is correct Naruto-kun," Orochimaru commented. "But you must know that you two have no chance of defeating me and while Kakashi is strong, Kabuto-kun is on his level. And Tsunade-hime's apprentice, while quite advanced in medical ninjutsu, is barely worth mentioning as a threat otherwise. Kabuto will have little trouble with them."

"You shouldn't underestimate your opponent," Naruto growled. "Kakashi-sensei is one of the strongest shinobi around, and Sakura-chan is a lot more than just a medic."

"We shall see," Orochimaru smiled. "Come them, let me see how far you have come under my foolish teammate's tutelage, and see how strong Sasuke-kun has become under Kakashi."

Naruto sent several shuriken at the snake Sannin before calling out, "_**Futon: Kage Shuriken Bunshin no Jutsu!**_" The shuriken picked up speed and the wind chakra added length to their blades, making them look like flying buzz saws. Orochimaru grinned as he easily weaved his way through the attack, acting like the snake that he so hoped to become.

"_**Katon: Dragon God's Wrath!**_" Sasuke shouted. A massive flame dragon spewed from Sasuke's mouth, it rose into the air above the fighters and gave a mighty roar. Orochimaru stopped his charge and looked up at the jutsu. The large A-rank _**Katon**_ jutsu soared down at the ex-Sannin, its jaw opened wide to swallow the ninja.

Naruto watched through narrowed eyes as Sasuke's jutsu slammed into the ground where Orochimaru had been standing. Just before the jutsu connected, Naruto saw Orochimaru grin and sink into the ground.

"Sasuke, that didn't get him," Naruto shouted. "He managed to slink away."

"So you saw that Naruto-kun, very perceptive," Orochimaru hissed as he rose from the ground behind Naruto. The blonde whirled around and moved his head to the right, just as the Sword of Kusanagi shot from Orochimaru's mouth. Naruto slashed his chakra-coated knives at the Snake Sannin who leaned back at the waist, avoiding the attack. Naruto leapt backward and landed next to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, we need to pick it up," Naruto said. "There's no way we can win if we hold anything back."

"I know that Naruto," Sasuke growled, his _**Sharingan**_ fixed on Orochimaru who had called the Kusanagi back to him.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, do you really think you can defeat me?" Orochimaru chuckled. "Why don't you leave Konoha and join me? Together we could do so much, you both must realize that Konoha is holding you back. They are afraid of your power, so they seek to chain you down. Surely you realize this, with my help you can shatter those chains and gain unlimited potential and power."

"Spare us your power pitch you snake," Naruto growled. "We're not going to fall for it. Your so-called promise of power is nothing more than a chance to possess our bodies and besides, we would be trading prisons from Konoha to you."

"You once promised me unlimited power and I foolishly agreed," Sasuke said. "But what you were giving was nothing more than borrowed power. I would become dependent on that power, rather than relying my own power. Naruto taught me that relying on borrowed power makes you weak."

Orochimaru began laughing loudly. "Oh so the jinchuriki talked about relying on his own power," the Sannin cackled. "Just how many fights have you won without using that _borrowed power_, eh Naruto-kun?"

"Not enough," Naruto admitted. "And that's why I was able to get through Sasuke's thick head. I don't want to become reliant on the fox's chakra. My parents became strong without having to use borrowed chakra, even though my mom was a jinchuriki."

"Oh so you know one of Konoha's dirtiest little secrets then?" Orochimaru grinned. "And yet you still defend it after all the village has done to you, the son of its greatest heroes?"

"I might have forgiven the villagers for allowing their fear to turn to hate, but I will never forget," Naruto growled. "Just as I will never forget that the old man lied to me whenever I asked about my parents. I have forgiven him because he had his reasons for not telling me, but when we meet again, the old man will be answering for his choices."

"Enough talk, let's finish this," Sasuke growled. "_**Katon: Fire Stream!**_" A thin stream of fire spat from Sasuke's mouth.

"_**Futon: Raging Cyclone!**_" Naruto shouted. He clapped his hands and a swirling current of air formed in front of them. Sasuke brought his _**Katon**_ jutsu over and instantly the cyclone became wreathed in flames. Naruto 'pushed' the flaming cyclone toward Orochimaru.

"_**Firestorm: Tempest Inferno!**_"

Orochimaru quickly sunk into the ground to avoid the jutsu. Naruto leapt into the air and quickly charged a _**Rasengan**_ in both hands. He landed where Orochimaru had vanished and slammed the two _**Rasengan**_ into the dirt. An explosion of rock and rubble erupted from the ground, as did a certain slimy Sannin.

Sasuke appeared behind Orochimaru, his left hand encased in lightning.

"_**Chidori!**_" Sasuke shouted, slamming the jutsu into the Sannin's back.

Orochimaru grinned as he dissolved into mud. Another Orochimaru appeared behind Sasuke.

"_**Shadow Snake Hands Assassination!**_"

Dozens of snakes flowed from Orochimaru's sleeves, their fangs glistening with venom. Sasuke whirled around, his sword sweeping from its sheath and shining in the sun. In a flurry of slashes, Sasuke cut through Orochimaru's attack. Naruto dashed past Sasuke, a _**Rasengan**_ in his hand. Orochimaru twisted out of the way before landing a devastating spin kick to the back of Naruto's head. Naruto exploded into smoke.

"Tch," Orochimaru growled. "That's not very polite Naruto-kun, sending a clone to sneak up on me like that."

"Yeah well, you know all about sneaking and slithering around," Naruto snapped. "I mean, that's all your good at isn't? Hiding in the shadows, slinking around in the mud and stabbing people in the back."

Orochimaru sneered at the blonde. "You must be talking about how I killed Sarutobi-sensei," he said. "That was a most joyous wasn't it? I came so close to achieving my dream, the destruction of the Leaf. However Sarutobi was able to put a delay on my ambition but I have corrected that delay. And Sasuke-kun, once I have those eyes of yours I will be unstoppable."

"Not going to happen," Sasuke growled. "I'd sooner pluck them out and crush them than let them fall into the hands of someone like you."

"Oh so the last Uchiha has turned his back on his vengeance and duty to his clan to side with the village that murdered them," Orochimaru taunted.

"Itachi killed my clan, and for that he will pay for his crimes," Sasuke spat.

"So they never told you, did they?" Orochimaru's eyes gleamed in glee. "Tsunade and the Elders must have deemed you too delicate to know the truth."

"What truth?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke, you know that he's trying to get you under his sway," Naruto said warningly. "He'll twist any words to suit his own goals, you know that."

"You must know that even as strong as Itachi is, there is no possible way for him to kill the entire Uchiha clan by himself and in one night," Orochimaru said. "He had to have help but the question is 'from who'? Who would gain from the destruction of the strongest clan in Konoha?"

"Sasuke, don't listen to this snake," Naruto growled. "I'll admit that there are some weird things regarding the tragedy about your family but we can worry about them later. Stay focused on the present."

"Oh but Naruto-kun, Konoha hasn't hidden things from just Sasuke-kun alone," Orochimaru hissed. "If you know about your parents, then you know what happened to your mother's clan?"

"I know that they were destroyed at the end of the Second Great Shinobi War, by Kiri, Kumo and Iwa."

"That's what you were told," Orochimaru said. "What the history books recorded and while it is the truth, how come Uzu was alone? Konoha was Uzu's ally, why didn't they come to Uzu's assistance. Surely they had to know about the attack. Three major villages moving that many forces couldn't have escaped Konoha's gaze. They had to know, didn't they?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the maliciously grinning Sannin. "Konoha might have known about the attack…so what?" Naruto snarled. "I can't change the past, only the future. If you're trying to turn me against Konoha, forget it. True, I might not like most of the villagers but I will still not turn against it. If I do, then that will just prove all those villagers right, that I am just the demon they think I am. Now enough with the snake talk, we didn't come here to talk, we came to get a traitor and would up finding three."

"Very well then," Orochimaru smiled. "Let us see how the last loyal Uchiha and the jinchuriki of the Kyubi no Kitsune stack up against Orochimaru the Everlasting." The traitorous Sannin sped forward, mouth distending and fangs gleaming. Sasuke and Naruto leapt apart, each in different directions to avoid the attack.

A second Orochimaru appeared in the first's shadow and spilt off toward Sasuke while the first focused on Naruto. The blonde raised his hands in a defensive position, his knives flaming.

"Oh so you learned to channel not just wind chakra into your weapons Naruto-kun," Orochimaru said. "Perhaps I should have marked you Naruto-kun, as I said, you could be great and I can help you on the path to greatness."

"I'm on my own path, I don't need your 'help'," Naruto growled. He slashed at Orochimaru, sending a thin slice of flame at the Sannin. Orochimaru easily dodged it. Naruto blocked a kunai strike with his blades.

"Eat this you sick freak!" Naruto shouted. The chakra blade in his left hand changed, it went from fiery red to white. "_**Futon: Burning Slash!**_" An X made up of one line of flames, the other a line of wind, sped toward Orochimaru. As they closed in, the X began to twist until it was a spiral of flame.

Orochimaru smiled broadly as he sunk into the ground to avoid the attack. Naruto narrowed his eyes and flexed his chakra, trying to find Orochimaru's chakra signature. During his training trip, Naruto had discovered this trick while trying to figure out a way to dispel genjutsu without injuring himself or having someone inject their own chakra into his. He discovered that if he overloaded his chakra and sent it out in a pulse, he could interrupt the other invading chakra, it also gave him the benefit of creating a sensing technique thought it was slow and cumbersome.

Naruto leapt into the air and twisted around to avoid Orochimaru's sneak attack. "_**Kage Shuriken Bunshin no Jutsu!**_" Naruto cried, tossing several shuriken at Orochimaru that spilt into several dozen.

The Snake Sannin lived up to his moniker as he weaved his way through the attack.

"_**Futon: Pressure Cannonball!**_" Naruto cried. A ball of highly condensed air, the size of a _**Rasengan**_, shot from Naruto's mouth. It landed right in front of Orochimaru, causing Sannin to stop his charge.

"You missed Naruto-kun, surely…" the Sannin broke off and dove away as the _**Futon**_ jutsu erupted with an immense crackle.

"You're not getting away that easily," Naruto said as he appeared behind Orochimaru. In a quick motion, Naruto slashed his wind knife through the Sannin's neck. "Tch, only a clone," Naruto grumbled as the body dissolved into mud.

"You are quite predictable Naruto-kun," hissed a hated voice, just as Naruto felt a kunai slip between his ribs.

"So are you," Naruto grinned as he grabbed Orochimaru's hand and glowed brightly.

BOOM!

Orochimaru came flying out of the smoke, disheveled and riddled with small cuts. Naruto leapt down from a nearby tree.

"Very clever Naruto-kun, and I see how you've managed to create new clone jutsu," Orochimaru sneered.

"Yep, my _**Shrapnel Clone**_, best parts of the _**Great Clone Explosion**_ and the _**Kage Shuriken**_ and _**Kage Kunai**_," Naruto said. "Still needs work but hey, what's the fun in creating jutsu when you get it right the first time. Oh I forgot you hate hard work don't you, you'd rather force feed people jutsu wouldn't you? It's the number of jutsu that you know that matters to you, not whether you can preform correctly."

"So Jiraiya-kun told you about that, the fool," Orochimaru hissed. "And I'll tell you the same thing I told him, the very name of 'ninja' means those who use ninjutsu."

"You are correct," Naruto said. Orochimaru looked stunned that Naruto would agree with him on something. "But you are also dead wrong, if what you say is true then Kakashi-sensei would be the greatest ninja of the age. The Man who Copied 1,000 jutsus, ring a bell? No what makes a ninja is not the number of jutsus; the true nature of the ninja is that to endure the hardships of this world. The people they serve often treat Shinobi as both heroes and tools but what many people forget is that shinobi are also people, people with dreams, hopes, feelings. To be a shinobi is what it means to be human in the truest sense of the word, we endure everything that the world throws at us because we don't want other to bear the burnt of that weight."

"So Jiraiya-kun has managed to teach you something other than that blasted _**Rasengan**_," Orochimaru said. "It was truly rousing speech Naruto-kun, however you are still just a child and have nowhere near the worldly experience that I have gained. Now I believe it was you who said no more talking."

"Quite," Naruto responded as he settled once more into his taijutsu stance.

Orochimaru gave Naruto a sinister smile before launching himself at the blonde. "Let's see how you endure this!" he shouted.

Naruto spent the next ten minutes frantically weaving his way around Orochimaru's fluid and devastatingly powerful strikes. The blonde was able to either dodge or deflect the majority of the blows but some managed to get through his defense including one heavy kick that Naruto thought had either broken or at least bruised several of his ribs. Naruto slightly drew on the Kyubi's chakra to help numb the pain but the blonde knew that it was only a temporary measure. This was Orochimaru of the Sannin, the man who was an S-rank ninja before Naruto's parents had even graduated from the Academy.

"Very impressive Naruto-kun," Orochimaru said. "You have certainly improved since our last encounter. To think that the boy who failed the Academy exam three times would show such improvement."

"I'll take that as a compliment instead of the crack against me failing," Naruto said. "You of all people must know about failing, I mean failing to become Hokage, failing to convince Sasuke, failing to crush Konoha, hell you couldn't even kill the old man properly, which reminds me, I have to pay you back for that."

"What do you mean failure," Orochimaru hissed. "I killed Sarutobi-sensei."

"You might have landed the fatal blow but through that entire fight you hid behind your puppets rather than facing the old man directly. You took the cowards way out and even dying, the old man was able to nearly kill you and that was after sealing roughly 2/3 of his own soul."

Orochimaru growled as he glared at Naruto. "I killed Sarutobi," he snarled. "And I am no coward, I believe it is time to stop playing Naruto-kun." The man shot forward far faster than before. Naruto was barely able to sidestep the man's punch but was too slow to avoid the backhand that followed. The blow sent Naruto flying through the air and through several trees. The blonde finally came to a halt against a large outcropping of rock.

Naruto blinked rapidly and swiped a hand across his eyes to clear his vision of blood that was flowing from a cut underneath his hitai-ate.

"So you are still alive then, eh Naruto-kun?" Orochimaru's voice laughed before Naruto saw the Snake Sannin appear in front of him. "Such a marvelous ability you have, imagine what I could achieve with it. Perhaps instead of just killing you, I could lead the Akatsuki to you. I was a member of that organization you know."

"Yeah and you got run out by Itachi," Naruto chuckled, spitting out some blood that had filled his mouth. "You only joined the Akatsuki to try and get the _**Sharingan**_ and you failed, so deal with it."

"Yes I did fail," Orochimaru sneered. "However Naruto-kun, what about you? What scares you the most? Ah yes, I remember now, Kabuto-kun told me; your greatest fear is failing to protect your precious people, isn't it? So why don't we see how you feel after becoming a failure like me."

Naruto blinked as Orochimaru vanished. An icy cold feeling fell over Naruto as Orochimaru's words caught up with him, but whom was Orochimaru going to go after.

"Sakura!" Naruto gasped. Naruto forced himself to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain that laced through his side; the blonde channeled some more of the Kyubi's chakra through his body. The pain dulled to a low throb. Naruto raced back through the Sound base and toward the sounds of battle. Naruto spied Sasuke rushing toward him but he ignored the approaching Uchiha and continued on.

The sounds of Kakashi, Sakura and Kabuto's battle grew louder and louder as Naruto entered a nearby quarry. The ground was littered with craters and debris. Naruto saw Kakashi fending off Kabuto's attacks while Sakura was trying to circle around to Kabuto's blindside. But Kabuto was much to cunning and kept leaping away any time Sakura got close.

"Naruto, what's going on?" Sasuke asked. "The Orochimaru that I was fighting turned out to be just a clone, which meant that the one you were fighting…"

"I know Sasuke," Naruto said shortly, cutting Sasuke off. "He said that he wanted me to know failure after I made a jab about him failing to obtain the Sharingan. I think that he's either going to try and ambush you, Kakashi or Sakura-chan, so keep an eye out."

Sasuke nodded slowly, trying to decipher Naruto's cryptic warning of failure. '_What would have the dobe so afraid of failing?_' Sasuke thought. '_I've never seen him so nervous and serious at the same time._' Memories suddenly came to the forefront of Sasuke's mind. '_Us!_' he realized. '_He's afraid of failing to protect his precious people, that's why he told us to keep an eye out for the snake!_'

"Sakura!" Naruto's voice echoed throughout the quarry as behind the pink haired chunin, the rocks erupted to revel Orochimaru with his sword sticking from his mouth, aimed at the pinkette's back.

"No!" Kakashi and Sasuke cried. None of the male members of Team 7 were close enough to reach Sakura in time to help. Sakura had heard the screams and had begun to turn around.

Blood spattered across Sakura's face and chest, as in a flash of yellow a tall figure had appeared between her and Orochimaru.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed as she recognized the mop of blonde hair.

"You okay Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked before he coughed, blood was trickling from his mouth. Sakura could tell from the angle of the blade that it had penetrated Naruto's right lung.

"Naruto why?" Sakura asked, her voice cracking as tears began streaming down her cheeks.

"Because I promised myself that I would never let anyone hurt my precious people again," Naruto coughed. He turned to Orochimaru, who was grinning maliciously around his sword.

Orochimaru ripped the sword free of Naruto, who fell to his knees at the man's feet. "Ah Naruto-kun, so predictable," the ex-Sannin hissed in glee. "Though it was quite surprising that you managed to place yourself between myself and Sakura-chan. How did you do it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Naruto laughed even though his mouth was filled with blood.

"Naruto! Stop talking, and let me heal you," Sakura cried.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible little girl," Orochimaru laughed. "The poison on my blade has no antidote and it is fast acting. Within minutes, Naruto-kun will be dead and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

"Well if I'm going down, then I'll take you with me," Naruto growled as red chakra erupted around him.

"Sakura, get back from Naruto now!" Kakashi cried. Sakura leapt away as a long tail of chakra emerged from Naruto, soon followed by a second tail. Naruto rose to all fours and glared up at the Snake Sannin through crimson red slit eyes. Orochimaru grinned as he took in the transformed Naruto.

The feral Uzumaki surged forward almost too fast for Sasuke or Kakashi to follow even with their _**Sharingan**_. Naruto appeared in front of Orochimaru and slashed the man in half with a hand cloaked in red chakra. The top half of Orochimaru opened its mouth and a full Orochimaru saw spat from the mouth, much like a snake shedding its skin.

The Kyubifed Naruto growled as it charged the slimy snake once more. The Snake Sannin went to extend his sword and pierce Naruto through again when a chakra tail shot from behind Naruto. Orochimaru sidestepped the tail only to have one of Naruto's fists slam into the wall with a deafening crash.

The Kyubifed Naruto growled as the rockslide settled on top of Orochimaru. A large violet _**Rasengan**_ formed in the boy's hand as he crouched low. There came a rumble from the rocks, suddenly they exploded into dust as a massive snake rose from the rubble, Orochimaru standing on its head.

With an another low throaty growl, the influenced Naruto launched himself into the air straight at the massive summon. Without a word, the snake surged forward. Naruto slammed the large _**Rasengan**_ into the snake's nose sending it to a complete stop before it dispelled in a large cloud of smoke. Orochimaru had leapt from the snake's head as Naruto's jutsu connected. Dozens of snakes shot from the man's sleeves and wrapped themselves around Naruto. The blonde spun in place, the Kyubi's chaotic chakra shredded the snakes. Orochimaru drew his sword once more and extended it toward Naruto with blinding speed. Naruto dove underground to avoid the blade and came up right before Orochimaru. One clawed hand grabbed the Sannin by the neck while the other quickly formed another _**Rasengan**_. The Kyubi's chakra quickly began burning at Orochimaru's skin like acid, though the Sannin didn't even seem to notice. The only difference in his expression was a slight widening of his golden eyes.

With an ear-shattering roar, Naruto slammed the _**Rasengan**_ into Orochimaru's head. It exploded into bits and pieces like a grape that had been pinched to hard.

"Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto shouted.

"You're not getting away that easily," Sasuke snarled as he appeared behind the traitorous medic. With a lightning quick slash of his sword, a second traitor's head rolled across the quarry floor.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried as Naruto tossed the headless body of Orochimaru aside. Slowly the chakra of the Kyubi receded back into its seal, leaving Naruto's skin looking as if it had a horrendous case of sunburn.

**A/N: There you have it, how'd I do? If you have any suggestions on how to make it better, or gripes that you want to get out, leave me a review or PM.**

**Thanks,**

**S.R.W.M.O**


	4. Enter Rasenshuriken

**Disclaimer: _Naruto_ isn't mine, I'm just having some fun, I don't own any of the _Naruto_ characters, I'll have created some of the jutsus. **

"Fall back!" Shikamaru shouted. "We barely know any of their abilities we can't just rush in and attack, we'll get killed. They are part of the Akatsuki, all of their members are S-rank ninja, and so these are very powerful adversaries."

"Shikamaru, I don't think that they're going to give us the chance to fall back and come up with a plan," Sasuke shouted as he ducked under a slash from Hidan's scythe. "Like you said, they are S-rank ninja, you better come up with something fast or we're going to get slaughtered."

"_**Suiton: Great Tidal Wall!**_" Naruto roared along with several of his clones. They leaned over and five torrents of water spewed from their mouths, the water currents climbed on top of one another to form a fifty foot wall of water that rushed toward the Akatsuki pair."

"Shikamaru, we need to split them up," Naruto said. "Ero-sensei said that these guys have the best teamwork of any of the Akatsuki teams, aside from Itachi and Kisame. We've got a better shot at killing them if we spilt them up. We've got the numbers to do it."

"And how do you propose to do that?" Shikamaru asked.

"No clue, you're the supposed tactical genius of the group," Naruto shot back. "So then Mr. Genius, what's the plan?"

Shikamaru fell silent for a moment, kneeling in a peculiar stance. Suddenly his eyes shot open. "All right, Teams 8 and 10 will handle the one with the scythe with Asuma-sensei and Yamato, while Teams 7 and 9 handle the other one."

"Now that's settled, what say we get back to fighting for our lives," Kiba shouted dodging another slash from Hidan's scythe. "And how the hell will we get these guys to separate?"

"Leave that to me," Shikamaru said. "You all just focus on not getting killed."

"Sure no worries there," Naruto quipped as he launched a massive _**Futon**_ jutsu at Kakuzu. "Hey Sasuke, why don't we turn up the heat on these bastards?"

Sasuke grinned and nodded.

"_**Katon: Breath of the Dragon God!**_"

"_**Futon: Wrath of the Tornado!**_"

"_**Collaboration Katon + Futon: Desolation of the Wind Dragon!**_"

The Konoha shinobi watched in awe as a massive tornado of flame arched up into the sky before slamming to earth, trapping Kakuzu within the flames. Everyone had to shield himself or herself from the heat.

"Now's your chance Shikamaru," Naruto shouted, as sweat poured down his face in an attempt in keeping the jutsu under control. "Everyone get back, Sasuke and I don't know how much longer we can keep this jutsu under control!"

"Damn, that's one crazy jutsu!" Hidan commented, raising his scythe to shield his eyes from the heat. "But if you brats think that will be enough to Kakuzu, you're dead wrong."

"Well you're not going to be here to find out," Shikamaru growled appearing behind the gray haired Akatsuki member. "_**Shadow Possession**_ success!" he grunted as he landed a glancing blow to the Akatsuki member. "Now it's time to play follow the leader." As Shikamaru raced off away from the others, Teams 8 and 10, along with Asuma and Yamato followed in pursuit.

"Naruto, Sasuke, the others are clear, you can release the jutsu now!" Sakura cried. Naruto turned to Sasuke, who had sweat pouring down his face as well. The Uchiha nodded and the two leapt away as the collaboration jutsu finally collapsed in on itself. When the flames finally flickered out, there was nothing but ash remaining.

"Where is Kakuzu?" Naruto muttered.

Surely yours and Sasuke's Flames of Youth extinguished the man," Lee cried.

"No, Naruto's right," said Sasuke. "That old bastard is still around here somewhere."

"Scatter!" Neji cried. The two Konoha teams leapt backward as hundreds of black threads exploded from the ground.

"What the hell are those things?" Tenten asked.

"No idea but they can't be anything good," Sasuke said.

"They're all connected to the enemy's body," Neji said. "It looks similar to Suna's puppetry jutsus, using chakra strings to control puppets."

"But those aren't puppets," Sakura said, her face slightly green.

"Correct," Kakuzu said as he rose from the ground. "It is the most powerful kinjutsu from my village, _**Earth Grudge Fear**_. It allows me to manipulate my body much like a puppet, though I can also steal my opponent's hearts and gain their strength. And that collaboration jutsu managed to destroy my Lightning heart, and I can tell that two of you have Lightning affinities, so you will be perfect replacement hearts for me."

Each of the Konoha ninja watched in disgust as four 'figures' leapt from Kakuzu's back. Each of the 'figures' was made up of what looked like a writhing mass of black tentacles with ANBU style mask on its 'face.' One of the 'figures', the one with a dark blue markings on its mask, gave off a piercing wail before the mask shattered and the writhing mass of tentacles collapsed to the ground and disintegrated into dust. The other 'figures' lined up next to Kakuzu, as if awaiting orders.

"What the hell are those things?" Tenten screamed.

"Kami if I know but they can't be good news," Naruto said. "I'm guessing that each of those masks must represent their elemental affinity, so we're going to take advantage of that."

"Correct, Sasuke and I will take on the main body," Kakashi said. "Naruto, you and Sakura will take the _**Katon**_ mask, Gai, you and Tenten, take the _**Suiton**_ mask, and that leaves Lee and Neji to take on the _**Futon**_ mask. Don't hesitate to finish these fights, remember this man is a member of Akatsuki for a reason."

"Right Kakashi-sensei," the others barked.

"Let's go Sakura," Naruto said. "_**Kage Bunshin!**_" Three copies of Naruto appeared beside the original. "_**Suiton: Waters Bullets!**_" Dozens of water bullets spat from Naruto and his clones and forced Kakuzu to scatter, allowing the Konoha teams to rush after their opponents.

"Sakura, got any ideas on how to put this guy down for good?" Naruto asked as he and Sakura landed in front of their opponent, the creature with the _**Katon**_ mask.

"Well we both have a _**Suiton**_ affinity, so that gives us the advantage in that sense," Sakura said. "But I have no idea how to kill it, maybe if we destroy the mask, that will do the trick."

"How do we do that?"

"No clue."

"All right then, we're improvising," Naruto laughed. "That's my specialty. _**Kage Bunshin!**_" Twenty-five clones popped into existence around the two Konoha shinobi. "You know what to do," Naruto ordered. The clones nodded and leapt into position. "Now!"

"_**Kage Shuriken Bunshin no Jutsu!**_"

"_**Futon: Tornado Devastation!**_"

A large tornado surrounded the black creature; dozens of shuriken circled the mask, inflicting a multitude of cuts.

"Naruto that isn't working," Sakura shouted. "We need a jutsu that will destroy it in one shot."

"You don't think I know that!" Naruto shouted. "Just wait for it!"

The mask dropped open and a massive wall of flame erupted from the creature.

"_**Suiton: Tsunami Barrier!**_" Naruto shouted. An immense wall of water shot from the ground and intercepted the _**Katon**_ attack. The forest became shrouded in mist, blanketing the entire area.

"Doesn't this bring back memories, eh Sakura-chan?" Naruto quipped.

"This is NOT the time Naruto!" Sakura screamed. "Just finish this thing, we need to get back to the others!"

"Fine Sakura-chan, you're no fun," Naruto pouted. "_**Suiton: Water Burst Cannon!**_" A thick stream of water spat from Naruto's mouth and collided with the mask creature's chest. The creature gave a high-pitched squeal that Naruto and Sakura took as a cry of pain. However the monster quickly regained its feet and launched a volley of fireballs at the pair. Naruto and Sakura leapt apart to avoid the attack. The creature, seemingly sensing the weaker opponent, charged toward Sakura, its tentacle arms speeding out to ensnare the young woman.

"Sakura! Get back!" Naruto shouted. "_**Futon: Dance of the Gale!**_" Naruto exhaled a large amount of wind that sped across the clearing and struck the creature in the 'arm'. The creature gave another high-pitched screech, while Naruto and Sakura watched, as the 'arm' seemed to fall to pieces in front of them.

"Thanks Naruto," Sakura said.

"Of course Sakura, you're my teammate and my best friend besides the teme, I won't let anyone hurt you," Naruto said.

Sakura was torn. She didn't know whether to feel touched that Naruto would to such lengths to defend her or to be angry that he felt that she needed protection. She had come along way since their genin days; she was no longer the weak little fan-girl that would fawn over Sasuke instead of training.

"Sakura now isn't the time to space out," Naruto barked as he severed several threads with a wind infused kunai. "You can daydream once we kill this thing."

"Baka, I wasn't daydreaming!" Sakura shouted.

"Of course you weren't," Naruto muttered. "Any ideas on how to get close enough to that thing to land a one-shot kill?"

"I don't have any long range jutsu powerful enough, I was taught to evade and not get hit," Sakura said. "What about your _**Rasengan**_? That is certainly powerful enough to kill that thing."

"You're probably right Sakura but I can't get close enough to use it," Naruto admitted. "Anytime either my clones or I get close, it just uses those freaky tentacle things or just blasts a _**Katon**_ jutsu to clear the area."

"There has to be a way for us to destroy it," Sakura said, frustration coloring her voice.

"Well there has been something I've been tinkering with," Naruto said.

"Why haven't you mentioned this before?" Sakura screamed as she ducked a _**Katon**_ jutsu.

"It's not perfected yet and you always said that combat is the worse time…" Naruto trailed off as the look on Sakura's face. "All right, I'll try but if we die because of it, I get to blame you."

"Fine, fine, just hurry it up," Sakura snarled.

Naruto pulled out a normal looking scroll from his vest before he bit this thumb and smeared some blood across it. "_**Uzumaki Secret Fuinjutsu: Gapping Maw Suction!**_" Holding the scroll out in front of him, Naruto braced himself with his chakra, as a swirling vortex shot out of the scroll and began sucking everything in the area into it.

The tentacle creature tried to destroy the scroll and Naruto by unleashing several high-powered _**Katon**_ jutsus at Naruto but the scroll sucked them all up. Then it tried to harness itself to the ground by sending dozens of tentacles deep underground, however this proved futile as the suction was too powerful. With a final scream, the creature was pulled off its feet and pulled inside the scroll. Panting, Naruto ended the jutsu and resealed the scroll.

"Naruto, that was amazing!" Sakura cried. "When did you learn that? And why in Kami's name didn't you use that earlier?"

"Sorry Sakura, clan secret," Naruto said. "And the reason I didn't use that jutsu until now was because I was hoping I wouldn't have too and the fact that I can only use it one time. I need to prepare the scrolls in advance and only had time to finish one."

"You said that the jutsu isn't complete, well it looked pretty complete to me," Sakura said.

"This is why," Naruto said, holding up the scroll, which was now trembling and smoking. "Stand back Sakura, this thing is about to blow."

"Blow? What are you talking about?"

"Later," Naruto barked as he flung the scroll as high as he could into the air. "Kai," he whispered. In a burst of flames, the scroll ignited and the creature reappeared. Naruto grabbed a kunai and threw it at the creature, the kunai whipped right through the creature without doing any lasting harm.

"Eat this you tentacle creep!" Naruto roared as he appeared above the monster, with a large _**Rasengan**_ in hand. With a shout, Naruto slammed the destructive jutsu into the back of the creature's head. The swirling and grinding chakra made quick work of the tentacles and the creature's mask. The remaining tentacles crashed to the ground with a thud before the mass of tentacles dissolved into nothing.

"What in Kami's name was that Naruto?" Sakura cried. "You just teleported or something!"

"No, I just replaced myself with the kunai that I threw," Naruto said.

"You can replace yourself with something that small!" Sakura gasped. "Naruto, that takes an immense amount of chakra control, which you suck at."

Naruto chuckled. "True, but during my first year with Jiraiya, chakra control was pretty much all I did. I know it was my worst skill outside of genjutsu so I knew that I had to improve it, so I did. It's not good enough to do medical ninjutsu or use baa-chan's strength technique but it does the job. Now come on we need to get back to the others, if it was that hard to kill the _**Katon**_ mask, the others are probably having trouble as well."

Naruto's words proved prophetic as when Naruto and Sakura reached Neji and Lee, the two Team 7 ninja could see that their friends were certainly worse for wear. Lee's clothes were torn to shreds and Neji's left arm was hanging limply at his side.

"Sakura, heal Neji, Lee and me will handle this," Naruto barked. Sakura looked at Naruto for a moment but then her training kicked in. "Lee, I know this one uses _**Futon**_ ninjutsu, anything else you can tell me about it?"

"No Naruto, only that it is quite strong at both defending and attacking at the same time," Lee said. "Neji does not know any _**Katon**_ jutsus due to his clan's laws and I…"

"I get it Lee," Naruto said. "Have you opened any of the Gates?"

"No, I was going to just before you and Sakura-chan appeared," Lee answered.

"Right then, I guess we'll have to do this the hard way," Naruto said. "Lee, when I tell you I want you to hit that thing's mask as hard as you can, got that?"

"Roger!"

"Here we go," Naruto said. "He quickly created a clone.

"_**Futon: Tornado Devastation!**_"

"_**Katon: Great Fireball!**_"

The _**Katon**_ jutsu got caught in the _**Futon**_ one, creating a column of fire that surrounded the creature.

"_**Doton: Rock Pillar Explosion!**_" Naruto snapped, slamming his palms to the ground. Suddenly the creature was launched into the air. "Now Lee!"

Lee leapt into the air and began to channel chakra into his fist, using the principle of tree walking to charge it up. "_**Goken: Hurricane Fist!**_" Lee shouted as he released the built-up chakra in his hand just as his fist slammed into the creature's mask. The creature gave a pitiful wail before the mask shattered.

"Great job Lee," Naruto said with a broad smile when Lee landed. "That was some punch!"

"Thank you Naruto, Gai-sensei suggested that I attempt to augment my _**Goken**_ with Hokage-sama's strength technique, to overcome my inability to use ninjutsu or genjutsu. I don't have the control that Sakura-chan has but…"

"It got the job done. Now's Neji doing, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"He'll recover but his arm suffered heavy damage and I only able to give preliminary care, I would need Tsunade-sama or Shizune-sempai to help me heal it further," she said.

"Nothing we can do about it now," Neji said. "Right now we need to find the others before its too late."

A large explosion rocked the area.

"I'm guessing that they're that way," Naruto said. "Let's go."

The quartet leapt off into the trees toward the smoke billowing into the sky. The scene they came upon was one of shock and disgust. Kakuzu had seemingly merged with the _**Suiton**_ masked creature, creating an even uglier looking mass. Kakashi and Sasuke seemed to be ok, their uniforms torn in places, Gai's as well, but it was Tenten that was in the worst shape. Gai was standing in front of the downed kunoichi. Tenten was clutching her right leg, trying to stem the blood pouring out of a large gash as well as a smaller cut just above her left eye.

"Sakura!" Naruto began but the pink haired chunin was already in motion, her hands glowing green. "Lee, take Neji and guard those two. Neji can use his Byakugan to make sure you don't get ambushed." Lee and Neji nodded sharply as they raced over to their wounded teammate.

"What took you so long dobe?" Sasuke panted when Naruto joined the Uchiha and Kakashi.

"Got lost on the road of life," Naruto responded, causing Kakashi and Sasuke to sweat drop. "I'm surprised you haven't finished this off sensei? Getting slow in your old age." Kakashi leveled a stare at Naruto. "Prime of your youth sir," Naruto amended.

"We almost had him but then he merged with that other mask thing," Kakashi said. "Since you are all here, that means you defeated your masks?"

"Have you no faith in me sensei, I'm wounded," Naruto said. "Of course we did."

"So you managed to destroy two more of my hearts," Kakuzu chuckled darkly. "I haven't been pushed far since battle Hashirama all those years ago."

"Damn you are ancient if you fought the Shodai, was he as strong as the legends make him out to be?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, this isn't the time," scolded Kakashi.

"The stories don't do him justice," Kakuzu answered. "He was and will be the strongest man I'll ever fight against. I would very much enjoy fighting him again. But first, I'd have to replace the hearts you've destroyed, yours will do nicely."

Kakuzu sent a blizzard of tentacles toward the three male members of Team 7.

"_**Suiton: Swirling Vortex Shield!**_" Naruto shouted. A whirlpool of water swirled into existence in front of the Konoha ninja, dragging the tentacles into its depths.

'_Clever brat_,' Kakuzu thought as he tried to recall the threads but found them stuck in the raging tempest.

Kakashi appeared next to the ensnared tentacles, his hand covered in lightning. With a quick slash, he severed the threads and leapt away.

"Now what?" Sasuke asked. "None of us have a jutsu strong enough to kill him twice over?"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Naruto said as a bell-like screech filled the air. The Konoha group turned to see Naruto standing flanked by two clones, holding what looked like a _**Rasengan**_ in his palm. However this _**Rasengan**_ was much different than the normal swirling blue ball of chakra that it usually was. This _**Rasengan**_ was white, and seemed to be at the center of a four-point star or shuriken.

"What is that?" Sasuke gasped.

"I don't believe it, he's completed it," Kakashi whispered. "He's completed sensei's technique."

"All right let's go!" Naruto ordered his clones.

"_**Futon: Great Breakthrough!**_"

"_**Kage Kunai Bunshin no Jutsu!**_"

The collaboration jutsu spread out across the clearing, the wind-propelled kunai whistled as they sped through the clearing. Kakuzu leapt into the air to avoid the attack.

"Take this! _**Futon: Rasenshuriken!**_" Naruto shouted, as he appeared behind Kakuzu.

"Not quite brat," Kakuzu said. "_**Doton: Rock Pillar Stepping Stone!**_" A pillar of rock shot up in between Kakuzu and Naruto. Naruto slammed his jutsu into the rock pillar. The _**Futon**_ jutsu tore through the _**Doton**_ jutsu like a fist going through wet tissue paper.

"Damnit!" Naruto growled as he landed beside Kakashi and Sasuke. "He managed to get away. I need a better distraction."

"Naruto, what in Kami's name was that?" Sasuke asked.

"New jutsu," Naruto said. "I'll tell you later but right now we need to finish this. I need some time to get that jutsu up again, can you two buy me some time."

"We can do that," Kakashi said. "Come on Sasuke." The Uchiha heir nodded and followed his mentor.

"_**Doton: Earthen Wall!**_" Kakashi barked, slamming his hands to the ground. A semi-circular wall of rock erupted from the ground around Kakuzu, hemming him in.

"Pathetic Kakashi, I would think that someone with your reputation and bounty would be smarter than that," Kakuzu sneered. The Akatsuki ninja leapt into the air to avoid Sasuke's _**Katon**_ attack.

"_**Futon: Rasenshuriken!**_" Naruto shouted as he leapt up behind Kakuzu.

"What the!" Kakuzu cried as he quickly spun around and his tentacles shot out to intercept Naruto.

"Not this time, eat this!" Naruto cried as he shoved the jutsu forward. It quickly shredded the thin tentacles before Naruto slammed it into the man's chest.

"NO!" Kakuzu cried as he was propelled away from Naruto and the others. Naruto's new jutsu suddenly expanded and engulfed the man in a massive spherical cyclone. The Konoha ninja watched in awe as they lost sight of Kakuzu in the bright light and dust.

"Incredible, I couldn't even count the amount of strikes with my _**Sharingan**_," Kakashi commented.

**A/N: Well there's the _Rasenshuriken_ fight from _Naruto: Shippuden_ hope you all like it. I'll keep adding in some fights as we go, so please let me know if the fights are any good.**


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